We were joined on The Agenda this morning by by CEO at Dignity4Patients, Adrienne Reilly, who gave us all the latest on the calls for a public inquiry into the abuse at Lourdes Hospital by former surgeon Michael Shine. 

Michael Shine is one of the most notorious convicted pedophiles in Irish history. He was a consultant surgeon in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co. Louth from 1964 to his retirement in 1995. 

Within these years he abused over 380 known patients. 

The group, Dignity4Patients, has been calling for a public inquiry to probe claims that authorities knew about the decades of abuse that happened at a hospital and at Shine’s private practice and failed to prevent it.

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The presidential election race has been thrown into uncertainty by the shock announcement by former European Commissioner Mairead McGuinness that she was dropping out for health reasons.

She said the “very difficult decision” came after a stay in hospital last week adding: “my priority now is my health. Given that the election is in a short couple of months, I do not believe that I have the strength to give the campaign my all.”

The Fine Gael politician led recent opinion polls and her departure leaves just one confirmed candidate in the contest, left-wing Independent TD Catherine Connolly.

Political Correspondent Sean Defoe joined us on The Agenda this morning to tell us more about this.

We also discussed the controversy surrounding Presidential hopeful, Gareth Sheridan.

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You may have spotted the seasonal ads: a double-scoop ice cream cone with a cherry on top.

It’s to get you in the mood for pensions, unlikely as it seems, although if there’s a better metaphor for a melting sticky mess, I haven’t seen it.

First mooted three decades ago, Pension Automatic Enrolment (AE) is finally set to arrive on January 1, 2026.

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Robert Whelan from Rockwell Finance, who spoke to us in more detail about this and told us everything we need to know about auto-enrolment and what we should expect.

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We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Callum Christie, who is an Oasis fan and found himself almost falling victim to a ticket scam after being duped thinking he was buying an Oasis ticket from someone he’d known for years. 

Callum issued a stark warning to listeners.

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With plans for almost 30,000 homes to be built in Meath over the next ten years, a local councillor has warned that the county is facing a public transport and parking crisis

Cllr Helen Meyer points out that almost 1,000 housing units will be completed in the Ashbourne area alone in the next few months and warned that many of the new residents will be commuting to Dublin.

She has called for increased bus capacity and park and ride facilities and has expressed concern about the new planning bill which will see a maximum of 1.5 parking paces per dwelling in new developments.

Councillor Helen Meyer spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this.

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The sons and daughters of farm families, whether they are farming or not, must be able to build houses in their local area, says IFA president Francie Gorman.

He said the issue of once-off rural housing has been raised at most agricultural shows he’s attended this summer.

“It’s unacceptable that you can have people get planning permission for holiday homes in certain parts of the country, and young people who were born in those areas are struggling to get planning permission,” he said.

Francie Gorman believes rural communities depend on local people being able to live and settle where they’re from, whether they farm or not.

Francie joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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A Fianna Fáil TD has said party councillors should have a free vote for nominating presidential election candidates.

Wicklow-Wexford TD Malcolm Byrne told the Irish Examiner that enabling a candidate to run does not mean councillors need to back their campaign.

It comes as Nick Delehanty suggested that, like Gareth Sheridan, he has the support of a sufficient number of councillors to propose and second his bid.

To date, only two candidates for the upcoming presidential election to replace Michael D Higgins have been declared: Fine Gael’s Mairead McGuinness and Independent TD Catherine Connolly, who has the support of Labour, the Social Democrats, and People Before Profit.

Deputy Byrne joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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Back-to-school season is well underway, and with school costs continuing to rise, parents are increasingly facing an anxiety-inducing end to summer. 

According to a recent survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions, one in three parents are now taking out loans to make ends meet, while children's welfare charity Barnardos found parents have to regularly dip into savings, having to sacrifice elsewhere, all to ensure their children have what they need when returning to school. 

We were joined on The Agenda this morning by Ian Gaughran from Olive for Education, and Ian is going to talk to us now about the financial pressures facing Irish families and what affordable alternatives are out there for parents.

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Louth Sinn Féin representative, Councillor Sionainn McCann, has expressed concerns regarding some of Louth County Council's proposals being put forward in the local authority's Speed Limit Review, and has put forward proposals that she feels need to be addressed.

Dundalk South's Councillor Sionainn McCann has welcomed the proposal from Louth County Council to introduce a 30km/h speed limit in housing estates but feels more can be done.

Councillor McCann spoke to us this morning on The Agenda about this.

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Social Justice Ireland says Budget 2026 must boost core social welfare payments by €25 a week to close growing income gaps and meet the Government’s promise of progressive budgeting .

Research and Policy Analyst at Social Justice Ireland at Social Justice Ireland, Michelle Murphy, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this.

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